A Different Melody
by dinosaurusgeek
Summary: Nineteen years later... What happened to Dudley? He has a family now, a wife and an eleven year old daughter. And his daughter has... A Hogwarts letter. Now, Melody has to bridge the gap between her old life of science and arithmetic and her new life of magic.
1. Prolouge: The Letter

**A/N: Okay, I exist. I didn't die. I got very stuck on this story, and when I was rereading it I realized the first few chapters are riddled with grammar and spelling mistakes, so I'm editing and re-uploading them in hopes of**

**A) Fixing the mistakes so y'all can enjoy a better story.**

**B) Ensuring you guys that I still exist and mean to continue this story, and**

**C) Maybe rewriting it will help me figure out the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to, I don't own Harry Potter :/**

* * *

Dudley Dursley went down the stairs one morning to find his daughter Melody carefully setting the table for breakfast. As soon as he walked in the kitchen, she threw her arms around his waist.

"Happy birthday, Daddy," she said, beaming up at him.

Dudley hugged her back, smiling. "Thanks, Mel. Can you go get the post for Daddy?"

Dudley listened to her run down the hall. He didn't know how he'd managed it, but he'd completely forgotten his own birthday. Twenty-six years ago, his biggest problem had been his cousin couldn't stay with his neighbor while he went to the zoo. How his life because of that trip and the days and years that had followed... He hadn't spoken to Harry since they had left the house a couple weeks before his seventeenth birthday. Dudley had tried writing to him, but somehow, the letters never came out right. How do you apologize for making someone's life a living hell for sixteen years?

The sound of Melody returning snapped him out of his reverie. She entered the kitchen with his wife, Heather, behind her. She was sorting through the envelopes as she walked. Suddenly, she stopped and stared at the letter on top of the pile. "Mom? Dad? This weird letter's got my name on it," she said uncertainly.

She handed him a heavy envelope with green writing on the front. Heather read over his shoulder:

Melony A. Dursley

The End Bedroom

Magnolia Crescent

Dudley was astounded. The letter, the letter, the letter... The last time he had seen a letter like this, a giant man had burst through the door of a ramshackle hut and told his cousin he was a wizard, whisking him away in the morning to a world full of magic. Dudley didn't know what this meant for his relationship with his cousin, or how he was going to tell his parents-heck, he didn't know how he was going to explain this to his daughter and wife! But at that moment, he was perfectly sure of one thing.

His daughter was going to Hogwarts.

* * *

**A/N: That was better, right? I'll be re-uploading the rest of it over the next few days, and hopefully I'll have a new chapter up soon. In the mean time, if there's anyone reading this for the first time, tell me what you thought, please?**

**~dinosaurus**


	2. Chapter One: Explanations

**A/N: Yay, two chapters fixed in one night!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry. But Melody and the plot belong to me!**

* * *

Five minutes later, Dudley was sitting at the table with Melody and Heather, trying to explain about Hogwarts. Dudley knew he was not the best person to be explaining magic- he knew next to nothing about how the wizarding world worked, due to the fact that his parents had forbidden any mention of what they viewed as an abnormality. It was strange, he reflected, to be the one explaining about magic, rather than listening to his cousin. Wait, _Harry!_ He could explain better than Dudley. But... he wasn't sure how to contact him. In the Wizarding world, Dudley knew, it was normal to receive letters by owl, but Dudley didn't have an owl to send. Besides, wouldn't it be rude to only contact Harry only because he wanted something?

"Have you ever heard about your cousin Harry?" Dudley asked. Without waiting for an answer, he went on. "Well, he went to Hogwarts, too. He loved it."

Heather looked at him. "Your cousin's a _wizard?_" she mouthed from across the room. He was saved from answering by Melody, who had been sorting through the contents of her letter, from the supplies list to the time and place of her train. She looked in the envelope once more and found another small slip of paper.

"Dad? There's something else in here." She unfolded the small piece of paper and read aloud. "Dear Ms. Dursley,

It has come to our attention that you have been raised in a Muggle household and community, and as such have little knowledge of the Wizarding World. A representative from Hogwarts School will be arriving shortly to explain this to you and your parents.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress"

Dudley sighed with relief. He would not have to continue with his failing explanation. If he was completely honest with himself, the major source of his relief was due to the fact that he would not have to contact his cousin. He very much would have liked to make up with Harry, but at the same time he was scared of what his reaction might be to this sudden contact after nineteen years of silence. He was saved from pondering this for very long, because with a loud _crack_ a wizened old wizard appeared next to the table.

"Filius Flitwick at your service!" the man chirped. He was extremely short, and his head barely came up to the table. He wore an emerald green cloak over black robes- clothes that would have been severely frowned upon by Vernon Dursley. Feeling awkward at best, Dudley took the man's hand, introduced himself, Heather, and Melody and ushered them all into the sitting room.

"I," the little man began, "am Filius Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster and Charms teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have been sent to answer any questions you may have about Hogwarts, and to accompany you to Diagon Alley, where you will purchase your school supplies. There are a few things you should know. The first is that now, your practice of magic is acceptable, as no witch or wizard of you age can control it. However, after your first year of education it is considered illegal to do so outside of school until you come of age. In the Wizarding World, we come of age at seventeen and receive seven years of schooling. First years are not allowed a broomstick of their own, and cannot play on their house Quidditch team. You'll learn about Quidditch soon enough, it's a wizard sport played on broomsticks.

"Fifth year is the year of O.W.L. examinations, and N.E.W.T.s are taken your seventh, and final, year. First years take Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology and Astronomy. You will also attend flying classes with Madam Hooch. Third year you may choose to take a variety of other subjects. Any questions?" Flitwick smiled.

"When is Melody going to get her things?" Dudley asked.

"Today, if you would like," he replied.

Melody turned to her parents, blue eyes pleading. "Oh, please Dad, can we go? I really want to get my things and read my books and-"

"Of course we can, sweetheart," Heather said, cutting their daughter off. "Just remember we have to go see your grandparents for dinner this evening, so you probably won't have time to start reading them tonight."

Dudley realized that he had completely forgotten his mother's invitation to dinner. What would his father say? He didn't want to row in front of Melody, she was so happy about her letter...

_We'll cross that bridge when we get to it_, Dudley told himself. Right now, he wanted to focus on Melody. After all, this was a special day for her.

"Where is this-Diogin Alley?" Heather asked.

"Diagon Alley is in London," The professor answered her. "If you would step outside with me, I will summon our ride."

Flitwick jumped down from the armchair he had seated himself on and started for the door, Dudley, Heather and Melody following. A few minutes later, they all stood on the sidewalk. The peculiar little man thrust out his wand, and with a loud _bang_, a bright purple, triple-decker bus appeared on the roadside, bearing the words "The Knight Bus" on its side.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I had Flitwick leave some things out. I didn't want him to ramble through the entire chapter, and I wanted Melody to figure some things out for herself. Just in case some new readers are looking at this, see the little box down there? Please fill it up and click 'review.'**

**~dinosaurus**


	3. Chapter Two: Diagon Alley

Dudley had seen stranger things than purple buses appearing out of midair-people appearing in fireplaces, his own tongue swelling to over four feet long-so this didn't faze him a bit. His poor wife, however, looked like she might faint.

A man in a purple uniform jumped down from the open doors onto the sidewalk. He looked to be about forty. Sounding bored, he said, "Welcome to the Knight Bus, my name is Stan Shunpike, and I'll be your conduct-

Flitwick interrupted his speech. "Four to the Leaky Cauldron, Stan."

"That'll be three galleons," the man-Stan said, still sounding extremely bored. Flitwick handed him three large gold coins from a pouch and they boarded the bus.

There were several large armchairs scattered through the bus, along with a few small tables. A magazine rack sat near the front, holding several copies of _The Quibbler_ magazine and a newspaper headed _The Daily Prophet. _There was a staircase in the back up to the next level, but the bus didn't appear to be very full- there were only three other people that Dudley could see. Stan came up the stairs behind them and seated himself by the door, picking up the newspaper.

"This lot's off for the Leaky Cauldron," he said to the man driving, a tall man dressed in the same purple uniform as Stan. He nodded silently and punched the gas. The bus shot forward, careening on the sidewalk. Lamp posts jumped out of the way, then moved back into place after the bus passed. With an enormous BANG!, the houses of Magnolia Crescent disappeared and were replaced with a bright village.

The bus skidded to a stop. Without looking up from his paper, Stan Shunpike shouted, "Hogsmede village!" A witch and a wizard descended the staircase and exited the bus. With a bang, the village was replaced by a winding road surrounded by forests.

Melody turned away from the window and said to her father, "So…. Uncle Harry went to Hogwarts?"

"Went to Hogwarts?" Professor Flitwick chuckled. "The man's famous in our world, Melody."

_"Famous? _What's he famous for?"

Flitwick gave Stan a sideways glance. Stan fidgeted in his seat and kept his eyes on his newspaper. Flitwick looked away from Stan and out the window. He was saved from answering when the scene changed again. With a BANG!, the bus skidded to a stop in front of a dingy pub with a sign over the door proclaiming it _The Leaky Cauldron_

"Oh look," Flitwick said, sounding relieved. "We're here."

* * *

Flitwick hurried everyone off the Knight Bus and onto Charing Cross Road Dudley was utterly confused. There was nothing there, apart from the everyday buildings of London. Then Melody reached up and took her father's hand. A small, run-down building was replaced by a pub with a sign over the door reading _The Leaky Cauldron_. Dudley put his arm around his wife's shoulders, and he heard a small "Oh!" come from her, letting him know she saw it, too. He smiled uncertainly down at his daughter, who beamed back. Without hesitating, she followed the old man into the building. Apparently _she_ could see the pub and had seen it all along. Maybe you had to be a witch or a wizard to see it? And then he could see it because he was touching Melody, who was a witch. Which meant that Heather could see it because she was touching him, who was holding hands with Melody, who could see it all in the first place because she was a witch.

Dudley decided to stop wondering how things worked. It was giving him a headache.

* * *

In the pub, everybody seemed to know Flitwick. Everyone had a smile and an offer to sit down-the little old man was very well liked. Finally they got past the tables and were standing next to the bar itself.

"Hello, Hannah!" Flitwick chirped as he passed, headed for the back door.

The woman turned around, confused. Then she saw who was addressing her and said, "Oh, hello Professor!"

They continued through the back door and into a small courtyard. Flitwick pulled out his wand and counted the bricks-three up from the trashcan and two to the left. He was so short, he had to stand on his tiptoes to reach it. He tapped the brick with his wand-it quivered, the whole wall was shaking, bricks were pulling back, out and away to form an archway onto a busy street with brightly lit shops, filled with people.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Melody," Flitwick said.

* * *

Melody followed Flitwick onto the street, holding her school list tightly. Her parents trailed behind them, seeming dazed.

"This is so _cool!_" she exclaimed. "How does it work?"

Flitwick gave her a sideways look. 'What do you mean, 'how does it work?' Be a bit more specific, please."

"Well…How does it _work? _I mean, you've got a whole street that no-one in Britain knows about! At least, no-one that's not magical knows about it. None of the people outside could even _see_ the Leaky Cauldron! And then this street-just opened up where there were shops! It's like-like this is in another dimension entirely, and there's only one way to get in. Actually, you would almost _have _to have this in another dimension 'cause otherwise people would've seen it with satellites or somebody would've looked at a map and seen a whole empty space in the middle of London, right where the shops go! I mean-you can't tell ne nobody's gonna notice something like that so-"

"In short," Flitwick interrupted, "You're wondering how Diagon Alley is hidden from the Muggles?"

"Yes. No. Maybe? What's a Muggle?"

"A Muggle is the word used for a non-magical being-in other words, an ordinary person."

"Oh. Then yes! How do you hide stuff like this from the Muggles? 'Cause there's gotta be streets like this all over the world-assuming there are wizards all over the world, which I am. I mean, there's no way all the Wizards come to London to shop, and those would have to be hidden from the Muggles too, otherwise they would know about magic."

"Think of The Leaky Cauldron as a door of sorts. Now, imagine the door has a bubble around it-a barrier that repels Muggles. Not only that, but the bubble also gives off the illusion that the building itself is old and run-down and it's possible it could come down at any minute. When you go through the door, it takes you to a different place, correct?"

"Yeah," Melody said, beginning to understand what he was driving at.

"Well, when you tap the brick behind the Leaky Cauldron, you open a door into a different place. As soon as you go through the door, you're not where you used to be you're in someplace new. So, think of this door as opening in one place and closing in another-not really one door but two that are connected so when you go in one you come out the other. So to answer your questions, we're-"

"We're not really in London anymore, we went somewhere else!" Melody exclaimed, excited. "That makes a lot of sense actually, 'cause-"

Flitwick was quickly realizing that Melody talked quite a lot. Trying to stop her from asking anymore confusing questions, he opted for a change in subject. "Look, here's our first stop-Gringott's. We have to open a bank account for you so you can transfer Muggle money to Wizard money."

Melody stopped talking and just walked. Her parents had caught up and were walking next to them now, rather than behind. Dudley put a supportive hand on her back and they approached the bank. White stairs led up to a pair of doors flanked by a goblin in a red and gold uniform. As they went up the steps, a man with red hair and scars running down the side of his face started up the stairs.

"Hello, Bill!" Flitwick said, sounding surprised. "Shouldn't you be in Egypt? I thought you weren't due back until next week."

Bill looked up. "No, I'm back early. Taking the kids school shopping, we ran into Harry and Ginny, Victoire _insisted_ they stop and talk, she wanted to talk to Teddy, so we decided I'd run to the bank while they had their chat."

They continued up the stairs and Flitwick introduced Bill to Melody, Dudley and Heather.

"Dominique starts Hogwarts this year, doesn't she?" Flitwick asked.

Bill smiled. "Yes, she's excited. She wants an owl; we're going to Eeylop's later to see what she likes."

They entered the bank. Melody was in awe-there were goblins everywhere. They followed Flitwick to the front counter. A goblin asked Bill for his key, and the two went through a smaller set of doors off to the side. While Flitwick started to tell yet another goblin they needed to open a vault and exchange Muggle money, she focused on the doors.

They were silver, and there was something engraved on them. Leaning closer, she made out a poem:

_Enter stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed._

_For those who take, but do not earn_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath out floors,_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned-beware,_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Melody felt that you would have to be mad to rob a place like this-people barely got away with it in the Muggle world, how would someone even begin to break into a place that was obviously magically protected? She was distracted when Flitwick announced it was time to deposit her excess money into her vault. Her parents had transferred enough money for one thousand galleons into her vault, and she reminded herself to thank them later. But right now, to deposit it into her vault.

A goblin handed Flitwick a small brass key, which he then handed to her, saying, "There's the key to your vault, keep that safe. Vault number 583."

Melody examined her key to see it had the number 583 engraved on the top. The goblin led them through the silver doors, and into a tunnel where there was a cart waiting for them. Not unlike a mine cart, it moved on a track and had no steering wheel. Melody guessed that it was steered by magic.

Everyone piled in the cart, which was quite large and easily fit Melody, Heather, Dudley who was holding an extremely large sack full of galleons, Flitwick and the goblin, who had yet to introduce himself. Melody didn't mind, mostly because she found him quite intimidating. As soon as they were all seated, the cart shot down the tracks. There were stalagmites, stalactites, and caverns huge enough to fit all of Magnolia Crescent into. Melody was amazed. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the cart stopped.

"Vault 583," the goblin announced. "Remove what you would like, and deposit the rest. You will need your key."

Melody moved forward and unlocked the vault door. It swung inward and showed an empty space, with shelves on the walls and a small pedestal in the very middle. Her dad lugged the sack of gold into the room and heaved it onto the pedestal. The goblin had another sack, which they divided a small portion of her galleons into.

As they left her vault, Melody decided to keep her key with her all the time. She pulled a silver chain over her head. On the necklace there was a small penguin. Melody strung the key onto the chain and hung it back on her neck. Sitting down between her parents, a thought struck her.

"How big is this cave system?" she asked.

The goblin looked her over before replying. "The tunnels extend miles in every direction. It's quite vast, and there are many vaults throughout. Anyone who doesn't know the system would quickly become lost."

"Is it natural or was it cleared out?"

"The larger caverns are natural, but many of the tunnels and vaults were dug."

"Is it very old?"

"Older than you or I."

Melody thought about this for a moment, looking around.

"Do you know how unstable this is? This many tunnels, spread over that great distance. They're very old. The slightest earthquake could collapse the whole system; it's a miracle it hasn't already! People's life savings are at risk, not to mention Gringott's itself and all the shops and countryside this works under." She said this all very rapidly, and continued about the growing risk of cave-ins in years to come and the effects it could have on the economy. Heather looked mortified and started to apologize to the bemused goblin.

"Sweetie," Dudley began. "This isn't like the normal-I mean the Muggle world. These people know how to support tunnels. I know you're very concerned, but the laws of physics aren't going to apply here like they normally would. We're in the Wizard world."

Melody looked like he had just said the sky was green and the grass was blue. She was very advanced in school and science was her best subject-she simply loved science. To hear that science wasn't going to apply was shocking to her.

Then the cart came to a stop, and science was the last thing on her mind as they began shopping for her things. First they visited Potage's Cauldron Shop to get her cauldron-pewter, standard size 2. Most of her things would fit in the cauldron, and it was much more practical than carrying all the different bags. Then they went to the apothecary for same basic potion ingredients she would need. At Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment they got a telescope and set of brass scales. From there they went to Madam Malkin's for her robes and finally walked into the shop Melody had really been looking forward to.

Flourish and Blott's book shop. The smell of musty books ad old parchment enveloped the little group as they walked in. Melody gave a little gasp. There were books everywhere, more books than she had seen in her entire life, more books than you could read in your entire life! There were bookshelves covering every wall, filling every inch of available space in the shop, except for a small desk in the front where you purchased your books or could get help finding the ones you wanted.

Flitwick led them up to the desk, which was thankfully short enough for him for see over. The sales assistant looked up from a form he was writing on. "How may I help you?" he asked pleasantly.

"Hogwarts shopping," Flitwick replied. "Could you tell us where to find some books?"

"First year?" he inquired. Melody nodded. "Let me see your list, we'll see what we've got." Melody handed him her school list. She needed:

_The Standard book of Spells, Grade One_ by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble

Glancing over it, he picked up his wand and began pointing it at different shelves, muttering under his breath. Several books flew off the shelves and neatly piled themselves on his desk. When the last one landed on the pile, he looked at Melody.

"You know, this is good for spells and whatnot," he said as he held up _The Dark Forces _guide_. _"But if you want more on the history, then you're better off getting _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."_

Melody decided that it would be good to have a couple extra books in addition to the required texts. She decided on the book he had suggested, _Hogwarts a History _(obviously she should know about her own school!)_, Common Magical Aliments and Afflictions _(just in case), _Which Broomstick?_ (f or future reference, first years weren't allowed their own broomstick)_,_ and because she was curious about the Quidditch thing Flitwick had mentioned, _Quidditch throughout the Ages _and _Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland. _

After that, her parents had told her that was enough books for one day. Flitwick had assured her that the school had quite an extensive library, and would cover any extra reading. Dudley smiled over her head at Heather. Leave it to Melody to try and buy out the bookstore.

Once they left Flourish and Blott's, they had only one thing left-a wand.

"Olivander's has always been the best place in Britain for that," Flitwick said. "Since the war, Ollivander's had an apprentice helping him. She runs the store these days."

They continued down the street, Melody amazed with this or that, holding them up quite a bit.

"Hurry, Melody. We have to be at your grandparent's house later," Dudley reminded her. _"My parents_!" he thought. _"What are they going to say about this? Dad's going to kill me!" _

Heather put a hand on his shoulder. "Something wrong?" she asked quietly, so Melody wouldn't overhear.

Dudley was starting to panic. "I just remembered-my parents-they despise magic, they'll hate this, how did I not _think _of this? I mean they practically _starved _my cousin just because he was a wizard, they hated him, they tried to make me hate him, and-"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Heather said, pulling him gently toward a shop with a wand on a purple cushion in the window. Both the wand and the cushion looked like they had been lying there a very long time.

A bell above the door rang when it was opened. "I'll be with you in a minute!" a women's voice called from the back. Inside, there was a counter opposite the door. Behind the counter were shelves and shelves of long, narrow boxes-they covered the entire back wall. A ladder gave access to the higher shelves. There was a door into a back room, presumably filled with more wand boxes. A few chairs were scattered about the space in front of the counter, but only one was occupied. A very old man sat in it, with balding gray hair and great silvery eyes.

Flitwick looked surprised to see him. "Hello, Mr. Ollivander," he said.

Ollivander smiled sadly. "Hello, Professor. It's been awhile since I came back to the shop. I do miss it sometimes…" he trailed off. Flitwick thought he must be very out of sorts-he hadn't even recited his wand.

A woman with long dark hair came in from the back, set a few boxes down on the counter, and leaned across. "Mr. Ollivander! I haven't seen you in awhile! Or you, Professor Flitwick!"

"Alicia Spinnet, how've you been?" Flitwick asked. "How's the shop been?"

"I've been fine. I've had my hands full with the shop recently, with the first years, needing their first wands. Oh!" she turned to Ollivander. "Speaking of first wands…Mr. Ollivander! I sold one of your dogwood wands the other day. Luna Lovegood's son-ten and a quarter inches, dragon heartstring. You always loved dogwood wands."

"Yes, dogwood wands were always good to pair. The wand chooses the wizard, Ms?"

"Dursley," Melody said, holding out her hand. "Melody Dursley."

Alicia came around the counter, holding a tape measure and a clipboard.

"Left or right handed?"

"Left," Melody replied, holding out her arm. Alicia measured her entire arm's length, shoulder to fingertip, then her fore-arm. Melody realized when it started measuring her height that the tape was moving on its own-Alicia was merely writing down the measurements.

"That's enough," Alicia directed the tape, it rolled itself up and went back to the counter. "If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would you say?"

"Umm…"

"Intelligent," her mother said.

"Clever," input her father.

Alicia went up the ladder, pulled a box down and presented it to Melody.

"Walnut and unicorn hair, eleven inches," she said. "Try it."

Melody took the wand and waved it. Nothing happened.

Mr. Ollivander watched as his apprentice tried all the usual wands-poplar, maple, ash, cedar-before moving on to less common woods and pairings. A vine and phoenix feather wand didn't work (according to Alicia, vine wands were a tradition among the Druids), neither did pear and unicorn, dragon and aspen, cherry and unicorn, red oak and phoenix feather, or, it seemed to Melody, any of the wands she tried. She began to wonder if none of the wands would "choose" her. She didn't even know what they were waiting for-she didn't know any magic! What if she really wasn't magic and this was all a big mistake? What if-

"Willow and unicorn, twelve inches," Alicia said, offering yet another wand for her to try. Melody picked it up and waved it like the rest of them-three small sparks flew out of the end.

"It did something! I did it!" Melody was excited. She had done magic!

Alicia looked at her, then at the wand. Smiling, she said, "We'll set this one aside, but I'm sure you can do better than that."

Mr. Ollivander came out of the back room, holding another box. In Melody's excitement, she hadn't noticed him disappear further into the store. He presented it to her, saying "Acacia and phoenix feather, eleven inches. Slightly springy." Mr. Ollivander, unlike his apprentice, also measured the density of his wands.

Melody took the wand out of the box, and incredible warmth spread up her fingers, like she had spent many years looking for a lost friend and they had suddenly taken her hand. She didn't wave the wand hoping for a result-she just knew what to do. With a precise flick of her wrist, the wand shot flames that didn't burn anything twenty feet in front of her.

Ollivander gave her the box and returned to his chair in the corner while her parents and professor marveled at the fire she had conjured. How strange, he contemplated. After nineteen years, he had almost forgotten that wand-the last wand he had ever made. Fawkes hadn't been seen since his master had died, all the years ago. The year before he fled the world, the phoenix had given one, final, feather. Ollivander knew nothing about this at the time; he knew nothing about it until the summer after Dumbledore died, when the Mister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, had showed up on his doorstep holding the man's will. Nineteen years ago, he had made that wand. Just after the war. That was the very last wand he made before giving the shop over entirely to Alicia. The curious thing about it was the girl-the willow wand had recognized her, but held back. It had responded to her, but not chosen her. How curious-anyone could see the acacia wand was practically made for the girl, and yet, another wand had responded to her. For a full fledged wizard, that wouldn't be so strange-once they learned to channel their magic, it could be accomplished through almost anything-though the results wouldn't be as satisfactory with another wizard's wand, it could be done. However, for child to produce such a result-and one that had grown up in a Muggle household, too! Melody obviously had great potential. However, the group was handing Alicia ten galleons, and now they were leaving, so Ollivander put these questions to rest until another day.

* * *

Back in the bright sun, Melody compared her list to the contents of her now overflowing cauldron, checking each item. When she got to the bottom of her list, she realized there was one thing she hadn't scratched off. At the very bottom, there was a note:

Students may bring a cat, toad, rat, or owl.

Melody looked at her parents. "Can we see what they have, please? I mean, just to see if they have anything I like? Please?"

Her parents smiled. "Of course."

* * *

Inside Eeylop's, the air was filled with squeaks, scratches, hoots, and croaks from the animals. The only animals that weren't making noise were asleep. There were dozens of owls, their cages hanging from beams in the ceiling. Cats dozed in the sunlight beaming in the window. There were salamanders and newts in glass aquariums, and in the middle of the room was a short fence that came up to about Melody's knees with about half a dozen ferrets inside, one of them peeking over the edge of the enclosure. In the back, there was a large pond-like area behind a pane of glass, filled with toads. Shelves on the walls were filled with cages for rats, mice and ferrets, food for all kinds of animals, water and food dishes, owl perches, and everything you could need to care for your pet. Off to the side was a clerk's desk.

Melody wandered through the store, petting the cats, stroking the owls, and watching the ferrets. She was scared of rats, and toads were just _weird, _so there was no way she was getting one of those. The ferrets were cute, but too high-maintenance. Melody knew that her studying would cause her to neglect the animal, and that wouldn't be fair. She walked through the store, looking at the owls now. She came to the very last cage and caught her breath. A beautiful snowy owl sat inside, ruffling her feathers. Unlike the others, she wasn't making any noise, just sitting in dignified silence. Her amber eyes regarded Melody, as if to say _"Well? What are you waiting for?"_

Melody went over to where her mother was cuddling a kitten. "Did you pick someone out, honey?" she asked, still holding the kitten. Melody led her back to the owl's cage. "Oh, she's beautiful, sweetie," she said, reaching up and bringing the cage off its hook. She lowered it down carefully, handing it to her daughter. "What are you going to name her?"

"Dunno. I'll decide later, I guess. Where's dad?"

Heather laughed. "Over by the ferrets, probably getting ready to try and talk you into buying one."

Her father seemed at a loss when he saw her owl-Melody thought he was sure she would choose a particularly playful ferret that she had liked. Melody, however, was extremely happy with her new owl, and as soon as she got off the Knight Bus, she hung her cage in the window of her room, closed the door and let her out. She flew out of her cage and settled on Melody's shoulder, nipping at her hair. Melody laughed. "_Now," _she thought, "_to think of a name."_

* * *

Dudley knocked on his daughter's door. "Come in," came the muffled reply. He entered, noticing that Melody had her owl sitting on hershoulder. The door made a quiet _thunk _behind him, startling the owl. She turned toward the source of the sound, and Dudley reflected on how much she looked like his cousin's old owl, Hedwig.

"You need to get ready to leave Mel," he said, sitting on the bed next to her. Her room was so unusually tidy for a girl of eleven. Everything had its place. It was uncharacteristically messy at the current point in time-her books were strewn across her bed, her trunk was thrown open, a few robes folded in the bottom, her wand box lay on the nightstand, her cauldron was turned over in the corner, her scale, telescope, and potions ingredients were all over the floor as she tried to decide what order things should go in her trunk. Dudley her robes out of the bottom of her trunk, put the book in the bottom, put the robes back on top, set the telescope and scales on top of the robes, then closed the trunk.

Melody was coaxing the owl into her cage, so he picked up the little glass phials and jars and put them in a drawer on the front of the trunk made especially for that purpose-it had a tray in the bottom that fit the jars snugly so they wouldn't rattle and break. That cleaned most of the mess, so he led his daughter downstairs and out to the car.

_"Now," _he thought, _"we just have to tell my parents."_


	4. Chapter 3: Dinner with the Parents

**A/N: Here we go again! Sorry about the wait on this one, but I've had computer problems. I really wasn't happy with the last chapter, but I posted it anyway, so I'll edit that sometime soon. There were a couple of important details in that mess of a chapter… I also fixed where I mislabeled it as "Chapter Three" by mistake. Sorry if that confused anyone… Also, if you noticed, Dudley refers to Harry as Melody's **_**cousin,**_** while Melody refers to him as her **_**uncle. **_**He's technically her first cousin once-removed, but she calls him her uncle. Sorry for that misconception. And, I'm also filling in some details that have always bugged me-like how nobody ever noticed a huge gaping hole where Diagon Alley should be on a Muggle map. Anyway, sorry for the long, ramble-y apology-rant. I'll shut up now and let you read. See you at the bottom!**

* * *

Dudley sat at the dinner table, listening to his father ramble on about his firm, Grunnings. He nervously made eye contact with his wife across the table.

_"Tell them," _she mouthed.

Dudley swallowed and had just opened his mouth to say something when he picked up part of Melody's conversation with Petunia.

"Yeah, we went to get some of my school things today. I also got a new pet! I don't know what to name her yet, though…" she trailed off thoughtfully.

"Where are you going next year, Melody? Did your parents ever decide?" his mother asked.

"Yeah, we got the letter today! It's the same place where Uncle Harry went. I can't remember the name… Hogwarts? Yeah, that's it!" she continued, oblivious to the horrified looks of her grandparents.

_"Well, that's one way to tell them. Way to blow the subject wide open, Mel," _Dudley thought, watching his father's mouth open and close soundlessly for several seconds.

"Dudley," he finally managed to get out. "I would like to speak with you and Heather. In the hallway. _Now_."

He stood and stamped out to the hallway. Dudley sighed and followed him, already knowing what was coming. Behind him, he heard Heather quietly reassure Melody that everything was fine, and no-one was angry with her. Then she was next to him.

"You weren't exaggerating," she remarked quietly.

_"No kidding,"_ he thought.

Then they were in the hallway, and Vernon stood facing them, his face a brilliant shade of scarlet behind his thinning mustache. Barely keeping his voice below a shout, he started. "What _exactly _does my granddaughter mean, '_she's going to Hogwarts?' _Of all people, I would have thought you would know better than to associate with their kind, Dudley! I will _not allow-"_

But Dudley had had finally had enough.

"No, Dad! _You _do not have a say in the matter! She is our daughter, and _we _will decide what we think is best for her! Just because you never liked Harry-or his parents, for that matter, does _not _mean that you can dictate what she will and will not do! I, for one, think it's _great_ that Melody is going to study magic-"

"Do NOT say that in this house!" his father hissed, turning purple.

"_I will say whatever I bloody well please! _And I will not let you cram your prejudice down my throat anymore! Our daughter is going to go to Hogwarts, and she is going to be a witch! Because she is allowed to be herself! That is the difference between us, Dad! I don't make everyone conform to be just like me!" By now, he was shouting. Abruptly, he turned to his wife.

"Heather, get Melody. We're leaving."

She left the hall to go get Melody. Dudley turned to his father.

"I hope you're happy, Dad. Because I will not tolerate you telling me how to raise my daughter."

With that, he left.

* * *

**A/N: Hehehehe...And y'all were expecting ****_Vernon _****to blow up. **

**Moving on! I'm going to *try* to update this pretty regulary from here on out, but like I said I've had computer problems, so I didn't get this one up. These chapters are harder for me to write because they're pretty slow, but things will speed up once Melody gets to Hogwarts. A two second summary, we're going to see all of Melody's schooling but most of the plot will be focused around the last couple of years. But, there will be some pretty important stuff happening soon! Including some things focused on Dudley-I will be further developing his character as well as Melody's. **

**On a completely unrelated note, if you haven't been to my profile in the past week, then I'll be starting another fanfic soon! Nothing Potter related-this is going to be about Danny Phantom, so if you used to be a fan of the show, you should check it out! I'll keep Melody up to date, I just like to have multiple stories going at once so if I get writer's block with one I can write on the other one for a little while while I think about how to un-stick the other one. However, I don't think I'll be starting anymore anytime soon. And if I do, it'll be one-shot and probably a side-story to one of these ones! So, check out my profile in the next few days and I'll have the prolouge up! **

**And before you go, tell me what you thought of this new chapter, won't ya please? :D**


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